Monthly Archives: May 2017

Are You Called to Missions?

Ninety persons who heard the call to missions currently serve, not in another country, not in another state, but right here in Kentucky.  Most times when we think of someone being “called to missions” our thought is to some remote area in Africa, China, or to international missions.  God’s call however, may be in the U.S. or, many times, right in a person’s own home state.

Time and again we hear testimonies from Kentucky missionaries saying they thought God would call them to serve “overseas”, or at least in another state, when His call was to serve right at home, to reach the thousands in Kentucky who do not have a saving faith in Christ.

Kentucky missionaries, or Kentucky Mission Support Catalyst (KY-MSC) as they are called, serve in a wide range of positions, including food and clothing ministries, pregnancy care centers, equestrian ministries, jail and prison ministries, disaster relief, all types of outreach ministries, and ministries to all age groups.  The positions engage in or directly support missions, church planting, collegiate ministry, or evangelism, in cooperative partnership with a Kentucky Baptist Convention church, association, or organization.

To become a Kentucky missionary, candidates must be baptized Christ followers who are 18 years of age or older, be called by God, and be an active member of a local Kentucky Baptist Church.  They complete a KY-MSC application and commit to the KBC missionary conduct pledge.  The missionaries serve a minimum of 20 hours per week for the duration of their assignment, and commit to serve from 9 months to 3 years, which can be renewed.

Kentucky Mission Support Catalysts are self-funded.  Although a person can serve without becoming a Kentucky missionary, there are many advantages.  Two main advantages are prayer support, as people all over the state pray for them through interSEED (www.kybaptist.org/interseed), and networking with other missionaries.  The missionaries can be adopted by a church (http://www.kybaptist.org/adopt-a-missionary,1477), and they participate in orientation and a commissioning service.

Becoming a missionary opens the door for opportunities to share about their ministry and have teams come to serve with them in ministry.  The Kentucky Baptist Convention, as well as the Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union, helps to promote their ministries and share their stories, offers opportunities for the missionaries to speak and/or display at events, and offers an annual missionary retreat.  Grants are also available for the missionaries through both the KBC and KY WMU.

Perhaps you have felt a call to local missions and would like to learn more about KY-MSC.  Or, you may already be serving 20 hours in a ministry and would like to apply to serve as a Kentucky missionary.  Please click on the following link for more information and to download the application – http://www.kybaptist.org/kentucky-mission-support-catalyst,1635.   Or, feel free to contact us.  We would love to help you discover where God may be leading you to serve.

Encouraging Leaders

Ministry is not for the faint of heart. One need only review the apostle Paul’s “resume” to realize such is the case. He describes his ministry experience:

“Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. . . . Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24-25, 28).

Paul faced both external opposition to the gospel and internal pressure for the care of the church.

Skimming his apostolic resume in 2 Corinthians 11 reveals a man who suffered much for the gospel. If the external trials were not enough for Paul, then there was also the internal pressure of caring for the church. Bottom line: ministry is filled with both physically demanding and emotionally draining work. The stereotypical idea that ministers work only a couple of hours a week (on Sunday) could not be farther from the truth.

It is no wonder why Paul, in his prison letter to Timothy, reminds the young pastor, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Ministry can be brutal both to the body and the mind. Timothy needed to be encouraged to continue in the work that God had called him to.

Today is no different. When it comes to the Great Commission, encouragement for ministers of the gospel is as vital as evangelism and church planting. There are at least five necessary components for a Great Commission strategy (praying, evangelizing, church planting, encouraging, and equipping). The first three provide foundation; the last two provide endurance. While I deal with the importance of all five elsewhere, encouragement is a slice of the Great Commission pie that more often than not is left out.

Evangelism and church planting, both domestically and internationally, seems to be on the rise within the SBC, as rightly it should. However, one area that needs equal attention when it comes to our Great Commission faithfulness is encouragement. Our church planters and missionaries, along with pastors of established churches, grow weary (quickly). While more recent study reveals that minsters are not leaving the ministry in droves like some may say (http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/october/that-stat-that-says-pastors-are-all-miserable-and-want-to-q.html), discouragement is all too real.

This is where the church can play a vital role. Discovering tangible ways to encourage pastors, church planters, and missionaries is an essential way to foster longevity in gospel advancement. While ministers of the gospel grow weary, churches that embrace a culture of encouragement among those on the frontlines provide real endurance for those struggling to run the race well.

As I meet with pastors, church planters, and missionaries all over North American and internationally, the common theme I hear is you have no idea what it means to us when we receive a card, message, package, phone call, or visit.

Paul knew this well.   After all, after planting churches, he would make his rounds back to those same churches “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith…” (Acts 14:22). You never know what a call, card, text, package, visit or just ongoing communication with a pastor, church planter, or missionary will do to help them “continue in the faith.”

Counsel for The Called

Lesotho-4God has called every believer to go into all the world and to make disciples.  Mission volunteers can be used by God to reach the nations, and to make tremendous impact on the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

Here are my top ten tips for believers who seek to serve internationally::

  1. Do not expect other cultures to be like your own.  Everyone has a tendency to think that  our own culture is the norm.  It is not always good or bad, it may just be different from your own.  Avoid being critical of other cultures, or comparing it to America.
  2. Be a learner.  Ask questions.  Learn about local customs.  Embrace new foods and new experiences.  Show genuine interest in the people that you will meet.  Knowledge of others and culture will always strengthen your witness.
  3. Learn some language.  Not all of us are gifted in language, but most of us can learn a few words.  Learn to say ‘Hello”, Goodbye”, and “Thank you”.  Nationals appreciate our effort in even small ways, and it demonstrates that we want to build relationships.
  4. Treat others with dignity and respect.  Put others before ourselves as the Scriptures teach us, whether they be nationals or fellow team members.
  5. Have a servant spirit..  Christ demonstrated the effectiveness of a servant spirit in His ministry, and calls us to do the same.  A servant spirit opens doors for the Gospel and makes us a better team member.
  6. Welcome others into your presence.  Be open to people.  Seek to engage others in culturally appropriate ways.  Kindness, smiles, and a gracious attitude are bridges for the Gospel. 
  7. Demonstrate a spiritual depth.  Prayer, Bible study, and worship  are foundations for maturity in Christ.  You cannot share what you do not possess.
  8. Be fluid.   Things will not always go as planned.  Trust that the Holy Spirit is working in the changes, and go with the flow.
  9. Demonstrate a passion for Christ.  Be ready to share your story and what He means to you.
  10. ‘“GO”.  You will never be used by God until you say “yes” and go.  The Mission Mobilization Team at the Kentucky Baptist Convention has challenged every church to “Send One More” in the coming year in a missions cause.  Would you be that one or, even better, would you take someone with you?

A lost world is waiting.

“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are  the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)

 

 

So, What’s In Your Hand?

Most of us have seen the commercial advertising a credit card that ends with, “so what’s in your wallet?” There are many card options available and they want viewers to think about which one they are carrying.

Have you ever given thought to what’s in your hand?  What is it that you do with your hands?  Perhaps you use a drill, saw or hammer to build things.  Maybe you use your hands on a computer keyboard to design, write or keep financial records.  Some will use pots, pans and kitchen utensils in their hands to cook or bake.  I know of others who can produce beautiful music with instruments placed in their hands.  And still others who can offer healing and relief from pain using medical instruments in their hands.  So, what’s in your hand? 

God has placed within each of us gifts, skills and talents that he intends us to use for His glory.  Sadly, many have only used those gifts, skills and talents for personal gain.  Imagine what could happen if we were willing to release and give to the Lord what we hold in our hands.

Moses had a rod that he used for guiding, protecting and leaning on when tending sheep and walking the hillsides.  However, when that rod was released and given to God, it was used to part the sea, bring water from a rock and determine the winner in a mighty battle.  When the rod of Moses became God’s (Exodus 4:20), Moses was able to do extraordinary things with an ordinary stick.

What ordinary thing do you hold in your hand?  If we are willing, God will take whatever we hold in our hands and use it in extraordinary ways for His Kingdom’s advancement.  There are missions opportunities in Kentucky, North America and around the world that need you to use what’s in your hands.  There are construction, medical, farming, and technical needs that make great platforms for sharing the gospel with those who don’t yet know Christ.  Being on mission simply means using what’s in your hands and obediently answering His call.  So, what’s in your hands?

Check out www.kybaptist.org/GO for hundreds of mission opportunities through which you can use what’s in your hand.